A Trip to Godric's Hollow: Halloween, 2014
by 0902FRIENDs
Summary: Just a normal Halloween, right? Clearly, it is not the case at the Potters'. Join the family's little nighttime adventure and see what happens...


"C'mon, you lot! Let's get ready! James, put your coat on! Lily, could you put your shoes on by yourself? You are such a big girl -" The Potters were having a chaos. It was Halloween, the day the little ones had looked forward to for months. James grudgingly pulled on his coat outside his Albus Dumbledore costume, while Lily was battling her shoes, trying to get them on alright.

"Al, don't run down the stairs like that! - Good evening, love." A small yet excited silhouette flew down the stairs wearing feathers, followed by a tall, thin man with glasses, a few threads of his black hair sticking out stubbornly at the back of his head. Harry Potter looked at his wife in the eye.

"Good evening. Are you sure you want to do this?" Sensing Harry's unease, Ginny asked in a whisper.

"Yes. And we have a plan. It's time. They should know." Harry replied in the same manner, then smiled as he helped Lily with her shoes. "Here, pull this out first, isn't that easier? There you are! A big girl now!"

"Dad, where are we going?" Al asked quietly, while James stuck his tongue out behind him.

"The village where I was born, where your grandparents lived."

"Are we going to meet them, Daddy?" Lily turned, looking at Harry eagerly. Harry thought for a moment.

"I think, you'll know what they look like when we come back."

"Please, Dad? We haven't met them before!" James was finally giving in to curiosity. Harry sighed, not knowing what to say. Ginny shook her heads and stepped in,

"Everyone ready? Come outside so we can travel."

 _Travel_ at the Potters meant to Apparate. The children were used to it, as it was their parents' most common way of travelling. Within seconds, five figures appeared at Godric's Hollow, holding each other's hands.

* * *

Harry led them off to an alley to the right. He had already designed a route, mainly because he couldn't let them see the house. Not yet. People here would normally recognize him, but it was Halloween, Harry had changed his eye colour, disguised his scar, and wore a muggle cat costume to match Lily's. Ginny, on the other hand, dressed up as James' (or Dumbledore's) Phoenix, and Al insisted to be an owl.

As they were approaching the first house with lights on, James started teasing his brother about his costume, again.

"You look more like a hippogriff, you know?"

"I am an _owl_!"

"Or a giant chicken. An ostrich."

"Owl!"

"Ostrich!"

 _"Owl!"_

"Behave, you two. Or no more trick or treating!" Ginny's bellows, so much like Molly's now, succeeded in shushing the pair. Lily clang on her father's arm as her brothers knocked on the door.

"Trick or Treat!" The three children chanted together as the door opened. An old man, short, lean, but with beard as long as James', showed up by the threshold.

"Oh my," he chuckled, seeing the family of five, "I didn't know I am famous enough to be a Halloween character! Are you trying to be my twin, my gentleman?"

"No… Sir." James looked astounded. Harry and Ginny squeezed each other's hands, trying to hold back their laughter. "I am Albus Dumbledore, sir."

"Ah… Albus Dumbledore… I see… Where did you hear him from, my child?"

"Er… My Dad always tells me stories about him… He's a great wizard, my dad says. He has a phoenix, and my mum is my phoenix!"

"Really? I see. You are doing a really good job…Here." He picked a handful of sweets and put them into James' bag, which was a part of his costume. "And you, gentleman?"

"He's an ostrich." James rolled his eyes.

"I am _not_! I'm _an owl_!"

"An owl, aren't you? Interesting, boys. Could you deliver letters and packages, then, my dear owl?"

"Yes I can. All owls can, can't they?"

"Al!" Harry hissed at his own son. He has never seen the man at the door before, not knowing whether he is aware of the magical world. Al gasped quietly as Ginny poked his back and James stepped onto his foot. The old man, though, was rather unalarmed. He chuckled again,

"Of course they can, my child! And here's a package for you to deliver!" He put some sweets into Al's bucket, before turning to Lily,

"And now… Our fine lady! Or I should say, kitten?"

"Meow." Lily blushed as everyone giggled at her response. The old man bend down to grab another handful of sweets and gentle placed them into Lily's bucket. "Happy Halloween!" He wished as they thanked him and went for the next house.

* * *

The night went on cheerfully. Harry and Ginny refused to magically condense the sweets, or to make them lighter, until their buckets (in James' case, his bag) were full. They wandered around the village, knocking on doors after doors, until Lily was getting tired and the boys undoubtedly believed that they'd been to the entire village. Harry and Ginny, having planned this whole thing out, knew otherwise.

"What time is it?" Asked Harry.

"Five to 11." James raced his mother to his watch.

"We're right on time, then." Harry announced, confusing the youngsters.

"For what?" Al asked.

"You'll see. Come on, Lily, we're almost done!"

The family walked quietly towards the Church. Lily rather reluctantly followed his parents. She was getting bored and tired and did not want to talk. The boys remained quiet too, to both parents' surprise. James felt something as they walked. Al reached a hand to his brother, who grabbed it rather with force.

Then they were there. Walking through the gates, the building, and rows of headstones. Al's heart sank. He _knew_ it. Then he saw it.

James Potter Lily Potter

Born 27 March 1960 Born 30 January 1960

Died 31 October 1981 Died 31 October 1981

 _The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death._

Al took a deep breath. James looked stunned. The two brothers were still holding hands, so tightly that both hands are sweating now. Lily was grabbing her mother's arm, who in turn was running a hand through her long, red hair. Then the children saw their dad, kneeling on the ground. Their hero, the strongest man they had ever come to know, kneeled on the ground as his entire body was shaking. They knew he was crying, silently, trying to draw breaths and suppress it, not wanting them to know, but they knew.

"Dad?" Al asked hesitantly. He was scared, scared that his Dad, who didn't even grimace when gravely injured, was now crying and seemed unable to stop.

"Yes, my dear?" Harry's voice sounded strange. Muffled, for sure, but there was also a trace of strangeness in it.

"Are you okay?" Al did not know how he dared to asked the question. His dad was crying, and he asked if he was okay.

"Yes, love. I'm okay. Don't worry about it."

Lily walked towards Dad, and put a hand on his arm. "There, there," she whispered, just like Mummy comforting her when she was sad.

Ginny put a hand on Harry's shoulder. Slowly, he steadied himself, and stood up again. He took out his wand, conjured a bouquet of flowers. With tears still on his face, he smiled, "Mom, Dad, I'm a parent now. My wife, you've met her. And children: James Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Luna. They are amazing. I have a family now, and they are amazing. I miss you. Happy Halloween. Ave." Then he turned back to face his family, still smiling weakly. Harry took the handkerchief conjured by Ginny and gentle wiped his face. "Let's go," he said quietly, now with more composure, "one more stop before home."

As the family stood in front of the statue that was transformed from war memorial, the children were once again in awe. The man and woman were both young and good-looking. They looked energetic and happy. Their smile was full of life and hope, and the baby they were holding looked at peace, too. Needless to say, those were their long deceased grandparents, holding their dad. _He was only a baby_ , Albus thought, _and they died_.

* * *

It was almost midnight when the family settled down in their own house. Lily was upstairs asleep, the night trip had exhausted her, and Ginny was in her room reading her daughter's favorite bedtime stories. Harry was cleaning the counter when he realized that the boys had been eyeing him with concern and curiosity.

"Spit it out." Harry knew exactly what was coming. He had prepared for this, too.

"When we were there… It wrote… They died on the same day..." Albus was avoiding his father's eye.

"And it was 34 years ago, today. You were one." James swallowed with determination and took over quietly.

"Yes. And they were 21." Harry added, "they were great people. Remember every time you two ask about them I say I don't know much? I don't. But I heard that they were great people. They were brave, kind, determined, and open-minded. And they loved each other very very much. They loved me, too. They died to save me. They died, so that I could live. They were heroes, your grandparents."

"Daddy..." Harry froze. It had been awhile since Albus called him _Daddy_. Yet he turned to meet his son's emerald eyes, ones that were just like his. "Don't die..." Now the younger pair of green eyes are filled with tears, and Harry put a hand on his youngest son's shoulder, "I won't, Al, I won't. Not for a long time. I promise."

Ginny reappeared in the kitchen, ushering the boys to go to bed.

"Gin, love, I want to have a word with James." James' eyes widened with surprise. "Man to man." He added.

Ginny nodded, took Albus' hand, and led him out of the kitchen.

"Dad, what is it?" James looked nervous now, Harry could see the fear in his light brown eyes.

"I need to talk to you. You are old enough now, and you need to know this before you go to Hogwarts." James did not move, Harry continued, "but I need you to promise not to tell Al and Lily, can you do that?"

"Why -"

"Because, James, you are a man now. You've grown up. Grown men know how and when to keep secrets. But if you want, I am always here to talk about it. Can you promise?"

They stared at each other, then, quietly, James nodded, "I promise."

"You know that there was a War all those years ago, long before you were born?" James nodded again, "Ron, Hermione, and I, we fought hard in that war. Mum, Neville, and Luna, too, but we weren't exactly on the same front then. Anyways, we fought hard and we contributed a lot, especially when we were about seventeen. That was the year the war ended, too. The truth is, it couldn't have ended without our help, do you understand?"

"Yes."

"And a war is a war. It couldn't be won without losses. My parents died fighting it, too. And they, like us, also contributed a lot to this world. Are you still with me?"

"I am, Dad."

"I also said, that they died to save me. They did. The bad guy, Tom Riddle, broke into our house. They fought him, but couldn't stop him. Grandpa died first" Harry paused at the vision of James falling like a puppet, "and Gran asked Riddle to spare me, even if it meant that she had to die."

"And he did it?"

"He killed Gran, but didn't want to spare me. But Gran chose to die to save me. She gave me an ancient protection. His curse rebounded, and his power was all gone. That's how I got this scar." Harry pushed away some hair from his forehead so the scar was visible.

"You mean he died? But -"

"He didn't die, for really really horrible reasons. But he did disappear. For thirteen years peace was cherished, then he returned. This time, it was Ron, Hermione, and I, along with other brave, selfless fighters, who finished him."

"You -"

"Yes, James. And this is what happened all those years ago. This is why the name Potter and Weasley are ever-so-popular and are always accompanied with cheers. But it is our lives, James. Our accomplishments, not yours. Do you understand?"

James kept still. His eyes now full of questions.

"I'm not asking you to live up to it or behave famous or anything. In fact, I'm asking you to stay true to yourself. You see, people will know who you are, maybe not from seeing you but definitely from hearing your name. And they will, either they mean to or not, compare you with all of us. Don't be scared of it. And don't let them trick you into thinking you have to do something, _anything_ , to prove yourself. You are always you, and we only wish for our James to be our James, not anyone else."

James still didn't move. He was staring into his father's eyes with bemusement. Harry sighed,

"Just don't let all the attention affect who _you_ are and what _you_ want, okay?"

After a short period of silence, James whispered, his voice steady and clear, "okay."

"And don't talk to your siblings about this. Not yet at least."

James nodded. Then, remembering something, he opened his mouth again,

"What about Teddy?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I talk to Teddy about it? Or write to him?"

"Yes, you may. I'm sure Teddy has some rather interesting things to say on this matter."

James pulled up his lips and smiled at the notion of Teddy writing something completely nutters to him.

"Let's go to bed now, shall we?"

With a tick of the light switch, the darkness filled the kitchen. Father and son walked upstairs quietly, not wanting to wake up any family members. They were men now, men of this family, men to take responsibilities and take care of the others. Harry saw his son closing his door, then sneaked into his own bedroom, and crept into bed.

"You really have a way to unsettle them, don't you?" Ginny said despite her half-sleeping mind.

Harry smiled, took off his classes, pulled his wife into his arms, kissed her cheek gently, and closed his eyes.


End file.
